Dust-laying emulsion



Patented July 21, 1953 UNITE:

2,646,361" DUST-LAYING EMULSION No Drawing. Application June 26, 1950,

Serial No. 170,487

This invention relates to agglomerant and adhesive materials,particularly useful in binding together and agglomerating dry, solidparticles such as dusts and fines present in aggregates and minerals,and also useful in the treatment of soils, roads, and other paved andunpaved earth and other similarly loose materials which are easilydisturbed by wind and/or trafiic. It is particularly related to anddesigned for use inconsolidating and stabilizing earth and soils andfines, and has particular utility as a dustlaying agent for roads,playgrounds, unpaved earth surfaces, and similar terrestrial areas.

The art of earth stabilization, road-making, anddust palliation bymeansof petroleum fractions has hada longhistory, and the prior artdiscloses the use of petroleum oil fractions, usually of residual andasphaltic character, either as such or in the form of emulsions.

A number of difficulties has detracted from the utility of the prior artpractice employing these oil fractions. One important factor is thenecessity for a low-cost product, since large quantities are required totreat an extended area effectively. The residual oil fractions have allbeen black because of their high content of asphaltic components andfree carbon. The use of materials of this type, for example, asdust-laying agents, causes the earth to become blackened, and,particularly when used in driveways, parking places, and playgrounds,this material causes a soiling of clothes and body of the person comingin contact therewith.

It is characteristic of ,this type of material that it is brittle atrelatively low temperatures, such as wintry weather, due to a highcontent of asphaltic components, and it becomes brittle in time, even inmilder weather, due to oxidation and to the evaporation of low boilingcomponents. The result is that earth if originally consolidated may soonbe broken up.

Another considerable difficulty encountered in treating areas withasphaltic materials is the sensitivity of suchmaterials to alkali.

For some applications, such as on school grounds where dark-colored oilsare undesirable, the more expensive neutral oils (distillate fractionsof petroleum) have been used. The use of light, neutral oils inquantities sufficient to lay the dust actually creates oily surfacessince the oil only fills thevoids between the dust particles (in thesame way that water is held by a sponge) until it evaporates ifsufficiently volatile, or, if the sand layer is deep enough, until itpercolates downward away from the surface, thus restoring the originaldusty condition. The neutral oil thus acts similarly to water to wet the8 Claims. (01. 106.-238) there is actually no bond between neutral oiland the dust particles; Such a dust palliative is then useful but forashort period of time, and repeated treatment of the area is necessary,Al-' though less 'obviousto the eye, the light colored neutral ,oilsalso provide a surface whichwill soil or stain clothing with oil spots.

An extensive investigation into the interactionsions thereof arise fromthe-nature of the-oils and asphalts employed.

I have-discovered that the asphalts and-oils of the 'prior art containsaturated hydrocarbon components, which have little or no bonding powerto consolidate, agglomerate, and bond dust, soil, earth, or aggregateparticles to each other. In fact, the saturated hydrocarbons fill thevoids between the solid particles and act to lubricate and separate theparticles from each other.

As a result of extensive investigation, I have foundthat it is theasphaltenes or the unsaturated components of the oil which impart theadhesive and bonding power to the oil. Thus, while an increase .in theamount of oil used in treating a soil will increase the ratio ofbondparticles. It can be shown by experiment that imparting unsaturatedcomponents to the earth such oil employed in a given volume of earthtreated. In fact, by increasing the amount of oil sufiiciently theinitial bonding obtained may be decreased. While I do not wish to bebound by any theory of this action, I believe that the saturatedcomponents, as stated above, are substantially unadsorbed by the earthparticles and are contained in the interstices of the particles and actto lubricate and separate them, and by diluting the unsaturates, reducetheir adhesive and bonding power. 7

I have found that I may avoid the above deficiencies of the priorarttype of petroleum oil fractions and solve the difficulties inherent inthe prior art procedures employing such oils, by removing from such oilsthe asphaltic components and the saturated hydrocarbon components, andisolating from these petroleum fractions a highly unsaturated resinouscomponent, understanding these components in terms of the test methodsreferred to below.

I have found that the saturated hydrocarbon content should form but aminor fraction of the petroleum fraction employed forthe purposes oftain a better bond between solid particles by em' ploying such amaterial than by employing a larger amount of a petroleum fractionhaving a higher content of saturated components, even though eventuallythe same ratio of unsaturated components to the earth particles areemployed in both procedures. The resinous component is substantiallyfree of black, asphaltic materials. Because of the high bonding power ofthe resinous component, a materially lesser amount of the component isnecessary as compared to the requirements when usingthe petroleumfractions employed by the prior art. Thus, although the resinouscomponents are colored, substantially no discoloration of the earthresults when it is used as a dust-laying agent, earth or soilstabilizer, or in other such and similar uses.

I have found that there is present in crude oils of the naphthenic,substantially wax-free type a component or fraction of such viscositycharacteristics as to be properly termed resinous. These components ofsuch crude oils are the unsaturated components thereof which have such alarge temperature coefficient of viscosity as to be highly viscous orsemi-solid at ordinary temperatures, being thermoplastic solids ofresinous or resinophoric character and thereby liquid at elevatedtemperatures. The resinous fraction which I have found'particularlydesirable is a material of honey-like to solid consistency at ordinaryatmospheric temperature, and liquid at elevated temperature having theproperties of thermoplastic resins, being substantially nonvolatile andsubstantially stableunder atmospheric conditions in that it will notchange to a hard, brittle product on prolonged exposure to air andsunlight. Unlike the saturated oils, these petroleum resins form astrong adhesive bond with the solid particles.

The above components of petroleum oil, which I have found particularlyuseful in the compacw tion and stabilization of earth and in the layingof dust, are those fractions which are undesirable in petroleumlubricating oils and which are usually removed in refining procedures,such as clay treatment, solvent extraction, acid treatment, and otherrefining procedures. These materials have, in addition to the physica1and chemical characteristics which I. have found to be desirable for mypurposes, the advantage of being waste materials at the presenttime, orbyproducts from petroleum refining, and are, consequently, available atlow cost.

Thus, for example, I may isolate these resinous components, havingproperties such as described herein, by solvent refining of waxy,naphthenic or mixed base oil fractions, either residual or distillates,and by de-waxing procedures, if necessary I may also obtain thosedesirable resinous materials by removing them from clays which have beenemployed in the 'clay treatment of residual or distilled oil fractions,and which clays carry the resins which they have adsorbed from oilswhich have beenrefined by such clays. Such methods for recovery of theadsorbed fractions from clays are well known in the prior art.

Thus, I have found that the components of l the petroleum oil suited formy invention are the unsaturated, resinous components of the selectivesolvent extract fraction, preferably of a distillate produced from anaphthenic base crude, naturally substantially free of solid waxfractions. Many different selective solvents for extraction of such oilhave been suggested for the manufacture of lubricating oils, as isevidenced by the art of selective solvent extraction of petroleum oils.Current commercial practice in the lubricating oil industry generally isto use sulfur may be a substantial quantity of the saturated hydrocarbonfractions dissolved in the extract. This may be minimized, as is wellknown in the art, by several expedients, such as temperature control,solvent to oil ratio, and rejection pro- V cedures such as supplementarysolvent washes (as with light hydrocarbons), the addition of water, etc.

The preferred type of resins having the unique properties and giving theunique results described are found in those solvent extracts (mostusefully produced from distillate fractions) which are substantiallyfree of asphaltic materials and wax which are reddish in color in bulkand transparent in thin layers, and which contain a preponderantproportion of unsaturated components and but a minor proportion ofsaturated components and usefully less than 25% saturated components,preferably less'than 15% of saturated components, and, in fact, thelower the per- 7 centage of saturated components the better.

As an example, and not as a limitation of my invention, extracts having,in addition to the desirable concentration of unsaturated components,the following characteristics are desirable PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICSExample 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5 Initial boiling pointC. at 10 C. at 10 Above 200 C. at Above 220 C. at 180 C. at 10 mm. H mm.Hg. 10 mm. Hg 10 mm. Hg. mm. Hg. I Flash point Above 250 0. Above 250 0.Above 250 0"... Above 250 C Above 250 0, Mixed aniline point 33.5 C 324C 0 C 40 C. Viscosity at 25 C. (cos.) 12,000 800 40,000, Viscosity at 90C. (cps.) 30 l0 40 Specific gr 1.02 1.01 1,01,

e V The color of Examples 1, 2, 3, and JP-reddish brown in bulk, andtransparent in thin layers. The color of Example 5-light yellow in bulkand transparent inthin layers.

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION 6. Bear Oil Co. as Golden Bear sulfonates, andconstituting the water soluble sodium salts of the sulfonic acidsextracted by alcohol in the refining of white oil with sulfuric acid;and bentonite.

.berg, published in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, vol. 41, pp.598-609, March 1949.

The mixed aniline point shall be determined on the fraction diluted withequal parts of normal heptane by A. S. T. M. Method D611-47T; theviscosity and the specific gravity shall be determined by conventionalprocedure, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

The direct application of these products to earth is not practical dueto their high viscosity. In employing these fractions according to myinvention, the solvent extract is emulsified with water. In this form Iavoid the diinculties inherent in stickiness and high viscosity of theproduct which make the handling of the product difi'icult. However, I amable to retain the advantages and utilize the adhesive properties, highviscosity, and inherent high boiling point of the effective resinouscomponents by employing the product as an emulsion in water. Dilutingthe extract with a hydrocarbon or other volatile organic solvent wouldreduce viscosity but would, at the same time, reduce the adhesivestrength and create a fire hazard, besides being more expensive thanwater.

I have found that for the purposes of my invention the emulsion shouldpreferably have the following characteirstics. It should be light yellowin color and be free-flowing, containing dispersed semi-liquid, resinouspetroleum bodies, preferably within the range of 5'7 to 63 parts byweight and water as the continuous phase not less than about parts byweight and preferably in the range of 3'7 to 43 parts by weight, andalso an emulsifier. The resinous petroleum bodies should have asufficiently high initial boiling point to give a flash point in excessof 400 F. and have a specific gravity of from 1 to 1.04 when measured atF. as compared to water at 60 F. (60/60). The emulsion is stable in thesense that it will not break when stored for long periods in clean,closed containers at ordinary atmospheric temperature above freezing.

Many different emulsifiers may be used for such resins to produce suchemulsions. For example, I may use: cetyl pyridinium chloride, fattyalcohol sulfates, water soluble petroleum sulfonates, such as those soldby Oronite Chemical Co. as Oronite Wetting Agent, andsodium petroleumsulfonates, for instance, as sold by Golden This list is not intended tobe'exhaustive, and is but suggestive of the emulsifying agents which maybe employed. Many agents useful for emulsifying petroleum oils areeffective in various concentrations. Those listed. above will be foundto be useful in concentrations of 5% or less. based on the resin phase.

In addition to the emulsifying agent, stabilizers may be used tostabilize the emulsion against electrolytes which may be present in theWater used for making or diluting the emulsion. The use of hard water orwater treated with chlorine will require the addition of suchstabilizers to the emulsion. Stabilizers will also guard againstpremature breaking of the emulsion by the soil before it has reached theinterstices thereof. Such stabilizers include casein, glue, and variousgums and synthetic protective colloids'and thickeners. Again, it isdesirable to use highly active ingredients so that the amount employedmay, for practical reasons, be kept to a minimum. These synthetic,highly active stabilizers include, for example, hydroxy-ethylcellulose,sold by Carbide & Carbon Chemicals Corp. as Cellosize, andmethylcellulose, sold by Dow Chemical Co., as Methocel, the gradepreferred for my use being 25 centipoises, or one of lower viscosity;sodium oarboxy-methylcellulose, sold by Drilling Specialties Co. asDriscose, or as sold by Hercules Powder Co., as Hercules CMC, the sodiumsalt of Vinsol Resin, as sold by Hercules Powder Co. as Vinsol NVX,Vinsol Resin, a darkcolored resin having a specific gravity of about1.218, a melting point of 234-239 largely insoluble in petroleumsolvents, and derived'from pine wood and containing phenol, aldehyde,and ether groups.

The following is an example of a formulation for dust-laying emulsionshaving the above preof any one of the resins of Examples 1 to 5, in-

- water.

elusive, containing about 0.9 part of Golden Bear sulfonates, as listedin the above table, is mixed, by strong mechanical agitation, with watercontaining 0.9 part of such sulfonates and 0.12 part of Vinsol NVX usingsufficient water to make up about parts. The mixture is agitated toproduce astable emulsion.

Such emulsions containa dispersed resin phase of small particle size ofa gravity close to thatof The emulsion has sufiiciently high viscosityto prevent coalescence or stratification on standing.

Emulsions of concentrations in excess of about 75 parts by weight ofresin phase and less than 25 parts by weight of water are frequently toothick and become pasty, while concentrations muchbelow 50 parts byweight of resin phase and above about 50 parts by weight of water tendto stratify into a water layer and a concentrated emulsion layer which,however, is stable and may be readily remixed with the water layer. Ihedilute emulsions are also bulky and contain unnecessary water, whichadds to storage and shipping costs. Therefore, while of course anydilution which gives a suitably stable emulsion may be employed, asindicated below, I prefer to make this initial emulsion concentrate ofthe order of 50-70 parts of dispersed resin phase, and 30 to 50 parts byweight of water continuous phase. The emulsions may be made moreresistant to coagulation by electrolytes by adding stabilizer, asdisclosed above.

I thus find it desirable to limit the composition to the preferred rangeof '7 to 63 parts by weight of resin and 37 to 43 parts by weight ofwater and use an emulsifier and'stabilizer to give a stable emulsion. Ihave been able to formulate these emulsions in the manner described andillustrated above so that they are so stable that they will remainunbroken for three months or longer when stored in clean, closedcontainers at temperatures above freezing and below boiling.

, In formulating these emulsions I find it desirable, where theemulsifier, or combination of emulsifiers, is suitably soluble todistribute the emulsifier between the resin and the water and mix theresultant solutions to produce the emulsion. For example, I have foundthe following to be a practical formulation for the emulsion of thisinvention:

Parts by weight Phase 1:

Solvent extract (specific gravity 1.02),

containing 8% saturated hydrocarbons 60 50% solution of Golden Bearsulfonates dissolved in a light extract (specific gravity 0.98) 1.80Phase 2:

Water 37.00 50% solution of Golden Bear sulfonates in water 1.80 VinsolNVX 0.12

These phases are mixed under strong mechanical agitation.

These emulsions, formulated as described above, have been found to behighlyeffective in the stabilization and consolidation of earth, andparti-cularly in the laying of dust, by spraying or otherwiseincorporating the emulsions into the earth layer, or when employed forthe laying of dust, a simple spraying operation over the road,playground, yard, or other area is suitable if necessary precautions inthe use thereof are observed, as described below.

I may similarly emulsify the above resinous components using an equalweight of water and as emulsifier 1% of cetylpyridiniumchloride or ofDuponol WA Paste or 5% of bentonite. I may also emulsify the resin inthe ratio of 60 parts of resin to 40 parts of water, using of sodiumoleate.

The above examples are merely illustrative and those skilled in the artwill be able from the above teachings to adjust the formulations toproduce the stable emulsions.

Due to the content of surface active agents as emulsifier, the emulsionhas great wetting power for soil, and will ordinarily penetrate, whenused in proper concentrations, as fast and as deep as water. It issometimes desirable that the ground be preparedso that it is open andporous near the surface in order for the emulsion to penetrateafsufiicient distance within a reasonable period of time. The successfulapplication of the emulsion depends primarily upon two factors: goodpenetration and saturation ofthe soil to the depth to which it will bedisturbed by traffic. Disking, or other methods of roughening thesurface to be treated, is, therefore, desirable where the surfaceconsists of solidly compacted fine particles.

tive in the soil and the resinous material applied 7 on the ground isnot lost as long as it penetrates, Insufficient amounts, however, willnot bind together all the fines, and the application should, therefore,be repeated until satisfactory saturation, or a satisfactory groundcondition, has been attained.

The type of soil influences both the amount of fluid required tosaturate it and the time required (i. e., number of applications) toreach the depth of penetration desired. Thus, a lesser volume ofemulsion is required to saturate and penetrate into sand than for. loam,and less is required for loam than for clay. Since the rate ofpenetration is rapid with sand, moderately fast with loam, and slow withclay, it appears that while with sandy soil one application, consistingof the total amount to be applied, will be satisfactory, with soilscontaining high amounts of clay, it is advisable to apply thetotalamount required in several applications. In order to increase the rateof penetration and generally the ease of application, the emulsion maybe diluted, preferably near the point of use, with any convenient amountof water prior to application. If only one or two applications are to bemade on soil containing high amounts of clay, wetting can best beaccomplished by disking and/ or mixing with a blade while applying theemulsion.

There is little change in the original color of a' surface treated withthe emulsion. The surface has the appearance of a freshly watered area,being slightly darker in shade than is the surrounding area. A surfaceproperly treated with the emulsion is substantially free of dust. Heavytraffic such as trucks and tractors stir up no perceptible dust underconditions where, prior to treatment, heavy dust clouds were created bysuch traffic.

It is also notable that surfaces which have become rutted and heavilydisturbed by traffic may be smoothed and compacted by ordinaryprocedures usually employed for this purpose.

The new surface thus produced is, however, substantially free of dust,and the bond between the earth and dust particles, which is formed bythe resinous bonding material of my invention, remains in place. It issometimes desirable, since some mechanical disintegration and grindingaction occurs during the above procedure, and since dust is ordinarilybrought in from other places by wind action and is sometimes stirred upfrom lower layers of earth which have become exposed by the movementover the area of heavy vehicles or the hoofs of animals, to repair suchareas by a supplementary application of the emulsion.

These results are possible because the bonding material is non-volatile,plastic, and not brittle, and remains so even when the surface isexposed r for prolonged periods to air and sun, under'which' *conditionsasphaltic materials oxidize and become brittle. .This phenomenon is aproperty-of the resinous, unsaturated components which produce a stableand flexible bond between the particles,whereas the asphaltenes (theeifective components of .asphalts) form a brittle bond which becomesmore brittle on exposure and which finally, on. prolonged exposure, haveno morebinding power for the particles. Such a surface, consisting ofrigid and brittle lumps of earth particles bonded by asphaltenes, whenbroken up by trafiic, especially by heavy machinery, cannot be re-workedto a smooth surface by blading and compaction as can a surface treatedwith the emulsion according to this invention. It is necessary to removethe disintegrated asphaltic layer and to replace it with a new surface.

Emulsions formulated according to my invention .have uses in addition tothe treatment of terrestrial areas and are also suitable for eliminatingor consolidating the fines and dusts present in aggregates, minerals,ores, etc., such as in gravel, coal, and in friable manufacturedproducts such as coke. This is accomplished by spraying these materialswith an emulsion of suitable resin concentration.

Tests have shown that the resin phase of the emulsions of my invention,while to a certain degree phytocidal to growing plants, has nosoilsterilization effect, and the emulsions may be used to prevent loss oftop soil by preventing generation or loss of fines. The soil may thus betreated with the emulsion, avoiding the spraying of growing valuablevegetation, in the man ner described. above, without impairing theagronomic value of the soil thus treated; that is, soils may be treatedwith the emulsion with.- out impairment of their vegetationbearingproperties, and ma thus be seeded ata later date nitrophenols,such as dinitrocresol and the polychlorophenols, such aspentachlorophenol, are well known herbicides which are fortifying agentsfor general contact weed killers, and may also be employed.

I have found that I can incorporate these ingredients into the emulsion,thus making preparations useful for binding dust and simultaneouslykilling weeds and/or sterilizing the soil. It is advantageous to add astabilizer to the emulsion before incorporating the phytocidal orsoil-sterilizing ingredient. The inorganic salts mentioned above aremost preferably added in dry form to the stabilized emulsion underslight agitation. I have found that if the salt is added to the emulsionas a water solution, the emulsion is broken even in the presence of thestabilizer. The following is an example of an emulsion suitable for soilsterilization and dust laying, and is given for purposes ofillustration, and not as a limitation of my invention.

10 Example 7 Istabilize the emulsion formulated as given in Examplefi byadding to each gallon of the emulsion (which contains 60 parts ofpetroleum resins) of a gallon of a 5% aqueous solution of Methocel (15cps); I then dilutehthis s0- stabilized emulsion by adding 4 parts ofwater to 1 part of the emulsion. I then add, under slight agitation,0.1t0'0.2 pound of'sodium chlorate (the amount required to sterilize onesquare yard of soil'for several years) to each gallon of fluid. Thismaterial is then spread on the area to be treated at the rate of 1gallon per square yard. The so-treated area is thus freed of weeds, isfree of dust, will not support vegetation for several. years, and hasthe advantage, when used on shoulders or dividing strips of roads, dueto it light color, of adding to the safety of traffic in that motoristswill not. mistake the dividing strips or shoulders for the road. Inusingthe polynitrophenols or polychlorophenols or other organicphytocidal chemicals, such as 2,-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and itsderivatives (the so-called 2,4-D preparations) or trichloroacetic acidderivatives, I find that since they are readily soluble in the resinphase I may first incorporate these ingredients into the petroleumresins before forming the emulsion. Other herbicidal ingredients whichare soluble in the resin phase may beused and are classed along with theabove ingredients as herbicidal additives for the purposes of thisinvention. The concentration of such herbicides may "be varied up to thesolubility limit of the herbicide in the oil phase at ordinarytemperatures.

The higher the concentration of herbicide in the oil the moreeifectiveisthe composition and the greater the permissible dilution with water.Thus, I desire to use from a smallam'ount, i. e.,

less than .1%' of the oil phase up to saturation percentages of theherbicide in the oil phase.

Thus, I prepare a 0.5 to 12.0% solution of the polynitrophenols orpolychlorophenols, and form the emulsion in the manner described above,but use somewhat more emulsifying agent than for the dustrlayingemulsion.

An example of an emulsion containing pentachlorophenol as the fortifyingagent of the emulsion to be used as a general contact weed killer visthefollowing preparation:

Example 8 The resinous phase is prepared by dissolving in parts by'weight solvent extract (specific gravity of about 1.04)';'6 parts byweight commercial pentachlorophenol; and 1 part by weight sodiumpetroleum sulfonates.

The water phase is prepared by dissolving in 67 parts by weight water; 4parts by weight sodium petroleum sulfonates; and 0.5 part by weightVinsol NVX.

.The two phases are then mixed and homogenized in a high-speedhomogenizing machine.

Another example of a composition of a commercial weed killer is asfollows:

Example 9 The emulsion is prepared by dissolving onehalf of the sodiumpetroleum sulfonates and the pentachlorophenol in the resin phase andthe other one-half of the sodium petroleum sulfonates and all of theVinsol NVX in the water.

Both phases are then heated to 70-80 C. before emulsification.

The pentachlorophenol content of the above emulsion may be reduced toabout 0.5 to 1% of the total weight of the emulsion.

These cencentrated weed-killer emulsions are, for practicalapplications; usually diluted with Water to give /2% pentochlorophenolin the final spray.

The emulsions are characterized by being stable for practically anunlimited period of time if kept in clean, closed containers and if notexposed to extreme temperatures, that is, above freezing or belowboiling.v

While I have described a particular embodiment of my' invention for thepurpose of illustration, it should be understood that variousmodifications and adaptations thereof may be made within the spirit ofthe invention as set forth in the appended claims. The presentapplication is a continuation in part of my copending application SerialNo. 168,864 for a Petroleum Herbicide Emulsion filed June 17, 1950.

I claim:

1. As a composition of matter, a water emulsion of an agglomerant andadhesive material suitable for agglomeration and binding .of earths andsolid particles comprising water as the continuous phase and adispersedphase comprising a resinous petroleum fraction substantially free ofasphaltenes and containing saturated components in amount notsubstantially greater than about 25% of the said resinous petroleumfraction. 7

2. As a composition of matter, a water emulsion of an agglomerant andadhesive material about of the said resinous petroleum fraction.

3. As a composition of matter, a water emulsion of an agglomerant andadhesive material suitable for agglomeration and binding of earths andsolid particles comprising water as the continuous phase and a dispersedphase comprising a thermoplastic resinous petroleum fraction having aviscosity at C. in excess of about 750 centipoises and a specificgravity not less than one (measured at 60 F.) substantially free'ofasphaltenes and containing saturated components in amount notsubstantially greater than about 25% of the said resinous petroleumfraction.

4. As a composition of matter, a water emulsion of an agglomerant andadhesive material suitable for agglomeration and binding of earths sionof an agglomerant and adhesive material suitable for agglomeration andbinding of earths and solid particles comprising Water as the continuousphase an amount at least equal to about 25 parts by weight and adispersed phase comprising a thermoplastic resinous petroleum frac- 60F.) of not less than one and not inpe'xcess of 1.05, substantially freeof. asphaltenes and containing saturated components in amount notsubstantially greater than about 25% of the said resinous petroleumfraction, said resinous fraction'comprising an amount not in excess of'75 parts by Weight and said emulsion also containing an emulsifier inaddition to said parts by Weight of Water and petroleum fraction.

6. As a composition of matter, a water emulsion of an agglomerant andadhesive material suitable for agglomeration and binding of earths andsolid particles comprising Water as the conin addition to said parts byWeight of water and petroleum fraction.

7. As a composition of matter an emulsion comprising as the continuousphase Water inamount ranging from 37 to 43 parts by weight and athermoplastic resinous petroleum fraction having a viscosity in excessof about 750 centipoises and a specific gravity not less than one, andnot materially in excess of 1.05, substantially free of asphaltenes andcontaining saturated components in amount not substantially greater than25%, said resinous fraction being in amount ranging from 5'7 to 63 partsby weight and said emulsion also containing an emulsifier in addition tosaid parts by Weight of water and petroleum fraction.

8. As a composition of matter an emulsion comprising as the continuousphase Water in amount ranging from 3'7 to 43 parts by Weight and athermoplastic resinous petroleum fraction having a viscosity in excessof about 750 centipoises and a specific gravity not less than one. andnot materiallyin excess of 1.05, substantially free of asphaltenes andcontaining sat- FRITZ S. ROSTLER.

and solid particles comprising Water as the con- 65 tinuous phase and adispersed phase compris- References Cited in the file Of this P nt ing athermoplastic resinous petroleum fraction UNITED STATES PATENTS having aviscosity at 25 C. in excess of about 750 centipoises and a specificgravity not less g gg g g Apr 23 than one (measured at 60 F.) free ofasphaltenes 2:377:639 Miner Julie 1945 and containing saturatedcomponents in amount not substantially greater than about 15% of theFOREIGN PATENTS said resinous petroleum fraction. Number Country 7 Date5. As a composition of matter, a water emul- 515,000 Great Britain Nov.23, 1939

1. AS A COMPOSITION OF MATTER, A WATER EMULSION OF AN AGGLOMERANT ANDADHESIVE MATERIAL SUITABLE FOR AGGLOMERATION AND BINDING OF EARTHS ANDSOLID PARTICLES COMPRISING WATER AS THE CONTINUOUS PHASE AND A DISPERSEDPHASE COMPRISING A RESINOUS PETROLEUM FRACTION SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OFASPHALTENES AND CONTAINING SATURATED COMPONENTS IN AMOUNT NOTSUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN ABOUT 25% OF THE SAID RESINOUS PETROLEUMFRACTION.